KARACHI: India has allowed Pakistani industrialists to set up industries in India, a move that has been welcomed by Pakistan. This initiative will certainly be accompanied by several attractive privileges and benefits for Pakistani industrialists.

I wonder whether Pakistani politicians are too naïve or imprudent to understand the long-term effect of this decision. Pakistani investors have already been shifting their investments out of Pakistan owing to the ever-increasing cost of doing business in Pakistan, terrorism, kidnappings for ransom, electricity shortages, increase in the crime rate and a never-ending list of snags obstructing business and economic activities. A large number of textile units have shifted to Bangladesh and Pakistanis top the list of investors in the UAE after Iranians.

However, allowing Pakistani businessmen to invest in India is calling for a disaster. India will certainly be offering lucrative incentives to Pakistani investors to establish industry in India. Many industrial units in Pakistan will wind up and shift to India, leaving thousands of workers jobless. This will give a further boost to terrorism, extremism and the crime rate. Export related production by Pakistanis in India will boost Indian trade, whereas Pakistan’s trade deficit will increase further. Thus, severe harm will be inflicted on an already limping Pakistani economy.

Thats correct but nothing new, so many other countries invite Pakistanis to set up businesses in their country so whats wrong with the Indian invitation. Businesses will only go where there is comfort in doing business. Businesses should be global in this time. We should capitalize on India’s 1 billion population, this could bring huge revenue for Pakistani businessmen and bring in foreign currency in Pakistan, btw our labor has to be competitive with regional players.

The Indian income tax officers will not spare anyone (after all, they are not related to industrialists, like in Pakistan). When the Pakistani investors see most of their earnings taken away by the Indian tax authorities, they will wind up their businesses and return (where the tax authorities never dare to venture into factories and shops operating in Punjab, KP and Baluchistan.